Mayhem and Retribution
by Raxivo
Summary: The skilled guild Retribution was assigned a mission in the Clockworks. Everything seemed routine, but before they knew it, they were separated without a clue. The Knights Twilyx and Ataxary journal their experiences as they make their way around the Clockworks, alone without hope.


**-Chapter I-**

 **-The Horror of Reality-**

PoV: Twilyx

Hmm… It's been a long time since I've kept a mental log about my life. I mean, now's the time that it matters, right? Oh well, here goes. Hi, my name is Twilyx, but that's not my real name. I'd rather not say it, though. Um… well, I've been stuck in the god-forsaken Clockworks for a week. Even Aria, my Seraphinx and my Battle Sprite partner, isn't enough to cheer me up right now. I am a member of the Spiral Order, but no word from fucking HQ about how to get me out of here. Oh well, at least I wasn't alone.

I was in a Guild called Retribution until we were split up. The leader of our group was Ataxary. She calls all the shots, and we all come back alive thanks to her. Our tactician, Trilychios, makes plans. Sure, he's smart and all, but he's no pushover on the battlefield with that temper of his. Next there's Myronasia, our swordmaster. The strongest person with a blade I've ever seen, including myself. Kicked my ass a few times, she did. After her is Sir Phant. We really didn't give him a nickname because his name was fine, but he just shouts it for everyone to hear anyways. He's our gunslinger, but not really that good of a socially adept soldier. Maybe his helmet's on too tight, no one knows or cares because he's deadly in a fight. And, finally, me. I'm the team spy, so I work on gathering data from other guilds, the enemy, and anywhere someone can tell me something for a few crowns. It doesn't come that hard to me, but everyone appreciates it, so I kept the job.

So, on how we split up… something we couldn't account for. It all happened too fast, we were followed down on one of our most important missions. A fake ambush was set up by some bandits (only God knows how they could make a plan, nevertheless think at all) to make us let our guard down, then they struck. First went down Phant (I almost thanked them), so we had no way of defending ourselves. I blacked out third, so I have no idea if Ataxary or Myronasia made it out alive. I'm just lucky to be sitting here with Aria doing this mental log.

I picked up my Spur, probably my best weapon available to me with our low funds, and stood. The Clockworks were like a labyrinth, no one knew how or when they worked their magic. Every time you enter a floor, the layout changes. If you fall in there with no emergency revives or Sparks of Life, you were a goner unless someone dragged your limp, broken body back. Cruel, yes, but we knew that when we started going in, didn't we? This brutal world won't show us mercy, so we show no mercy to the things in here. Lichens, Devilites, Gremlins, Wolvers, all of it. We walk in there, not knowing if we walk out, crawl out, or not come out at all. It scares the living crap out of me, but that's why we formed a team. And I'm not about to lose them, no matter how batshit crazy they drive me sometimes.

Speaking of crazy, I think I'm starting to lose sanity because of this fucking place. Every turn is scary with these creatures from Hell attacking me, and schizophrenia does not help for shit. I'm sorry for the language, this isn't really like me, but these cocksuckers are making me go insane. As I turn around the nearest corner, Aria flying furiously over to my side, a chair goes sailing past my head. The Devilite that threw it is giggling at me as it passes right in front of my face, hitting a wall. I give it an angry glare, but it doesn't last as he's gasping for air. I twist my blade as it screams out its last words (or whatever they say) before it cuts short, the blood running in a subtle yet noticeable fashion. Aria flinched slightly when I kicked the carcass off of the platform into the murky depths. I rescued her from the Clockworks when she was just an infant and I a new recruit, so we naturally have been there for each other all the way. She's never liked combat, but it's what I have to do. I stared at my sword, the blood dulling its glint along with the other stains.

I suddenly felt a small pang of remorse for what I did to the dead Devilite. I know that the Spiral Order taught us to suppress our feelings to our enemies, but I think my desperation to escape made me go over the top; another sign I'm going to lose it if I don't make progress on getting out of here. The GPS on the map says that the boss should be right around the bend. It's easier said than done, but it's worth it. I whispered a quiet "Sorry." down the pit, but the echo still made it audible for any goddamn Pit Boss to promote all of the Devilites and screw me over. I clutched my Defender tight, the blood still on my hands and armor, and stepped on the button to raise the gate to the boss waiting chamber.

I cherish these small places. They always gave me time to clear my head, restock my health, reinforce my shield, whatever. But now, all I felt is a seething rage to shove my sword right up his ass and smack him dead with my shield. I nodded and stepped on the group button. The gate in front of me opened, revealing the boss chamber. The gate behind me closed tight, stopping any doubts I had. There's no escape until they're dead on the floor.

Here I am, guys. I'm coming for you, just hang tight. We're all going to make it out alive, and that's a promise I'm going to keep, I swear. This is Elite Soldier Twilyx signing off, maybe the last time I sign off with sanity and mercy.

PoV: Ataxary

My head has been throbbing for days. At least, I think it's been days. I've lost track of time ever since my squad and I were attacked. I don't know exactly what happened, everything since has been a haze, but the event replays itself constantly. I can't check over my shoulder without hearing the panic of my teammates, and the seeing the people I care about most in danger. When I signed up to be a Knight, I was made well-aware of the consequences of my choices, but it wasn't until that moment did I feel the repercussions. As leader, it's my responsibility to drag my sorry ass off of the ground to find my guild. I won't rest until I find them all.

Let me get something straight. I am the leader of Retribution, a guild made of strong warriors and my closest friends. My Knight name is Ataxary. You won't need to know my first name, since you won't ever be calling me by it unless you want my sword in your side.

I don't know how, but I ended up at the worst place I possibly could be in the Clockworks: at Candlestick Keep. It is my own personal Hell. I've only been here about two times before, with my previous guild. I know the horrors that wait for me if I go on, but as much as I want to bask in the light of Owlite Candles, I force myself to leave the soft blue glow. For my team. For my friends.

"AAAAAHHHHH," I screamed as I ran down the hall, chased by a horrifying Grimalkin. If Myronasia or Sir Phant was here, I'm sure I would hear some crappy remark about how cowardly that scream was, but I guess that was one advantage of being alone. I grabbed an ember from the loader and hurled it to a candle to be temporarily lit. I dove into the safety of the orange light, panting as I watched the Grimalkin bite at the rim of the gleam. Obviously, this is the perfect time for enemies to appear. Just some Spookats and Dust Zombies, nothing out of the ordinary. At first, everything was calm, but the chaos quickly rolled in as I pulled out my standard Blaster and shot the stuff of nightmares, collecting the small amount of loot I earned. I set off away from the candle and cried my way to the next. That was the basics of my first level after being separated. Not much has changed from that time, except for the scenery.

Being the most experienced member of the team, I know how the Clockworks can mess with someone's brain. For every moment you're here it's constant warfare, with unavoidable enemies everywhere you look. The moment you think you've finished, and you're free, is the moment you discover that there is more to enemies pile on you mentally as much as they do physically. I've watched two people I cared about go wild more times than I'd like to admit.

When I was a new recruit, I was in a guild named Starborn. It consisted of my two closest friends at the time, Teriappo and Gangrel. It was small, but it was all us rookies needed. Our only mission was to prove to HQ that we were more than capable of handling the Clockworks without a form of authority.

 _-obvious flashback is obvious-_

" _Ready to dive in?" Teriappo said sweetly, smiling as he readied his gear. To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen him this happy before, especially not at any training courses.  
_ " _Well, duh," I replied, playing around a bit with my Proto Sword, "It's only the day I've been waiting for ever since I signed up to be a Knight. How many enemies do you think there's gonna be?"_

" _Maybe-"_

" _Are they gonna be difficult?"_

" _I'm sure it's nothing we can't-"_

" _Most important of all, how much loot are we gonna get?!" I gasped with a twinkle in my eye._

 _He groaned, "Ataxary, you're hopeless." Teriappo was back to his former gloomy self._

" _Now, now, don't ruin the girl's spirit!" Gangrel called out to us from the other side of the Mission Lobby, "She has so much of it to make up for your lack of it, Teri." I giggled a little to hard at this statement for Teri's liking._

" _Jackass..," he muttered under his breath. I grabbed his hand and ran over to the elevator, holding his hands and spinning with him. He didn't cheer up at all, but it made me happy. Gangrel stepped on soon after, and we started on our descendent down into the Clockworks for the first time. I watched everything zip by as we started our first mission. I was so excited when the elevator came to a halt, so I ran off in front of the two boys and encountered my first enemy.  
The Scuttlebot is a simple creature. It's a small, spider-like robot that is very not threatening. Nonetheless, I was more than happy to jab it with my Proto Sword. It fought back of course, shooting back a single bullet. I pulled up my Proto Shield in defense, and attacked again. A few rounds of this and the Scuttlebot fell over on it's back, and disintegrated. All that was left in it's place was Scrap Metal and a couple orbs of heat. _

" _LOOT, LOOT, LOOT!" I cried out, jumping in joy. I collected my rewards. I turned and saw that my coworkers were fighting off their own first enemies, and I couldn't be prouder. I lended a hand to where I could. The rest of the mission went smoothly. It always does in the beginning. Our teamwork and hard work prevailed. We were all so caught up in the rush and heroism of it that when get got on the elevator again afterwards, we were shocked._

 _I screamed when I cooled down and looked at my teammates. They were bloody and scratched up._

" _The two of you look like murderers!" I cried out, my eyes started to blur with tears. This isn't what I imagined victory looked liked.  
_ " _As do you," Gangrel whispered, obviously a little more than shaken up._

 _Teri looked up from the floor, asking, "Well, it's not like we're killing innocents, right? I mean, these creatures have reasons to die. Some of them aren't even flesh and blood."_

" _Yes," I retaliated, "but they're still sentient beings! They have- had life." I raised my hand to wipe the tears of my face, but I realized I'd rather have it stained with tears than stained with blood. We stayed quiet the rest of the journey up to Haven, but it was obvious that we were all panicking on the inside._

 _-obvious flashback end is obvious-_

There is a reward to all this: loot. Loot as far as the eye can see. Every death, every drop of blood spilled is rewarded if you can live long enough. Whether it's heat, materials or items to do more fighting, my efforts never go unappreciated. There's still a question I have asked myself and failed to answer:

Is all this really worth losing myself?

Who knows.


End file.
